What's Your Biggest Challenge with Your Book?

[Bill Frank]

I'd be interested to learn what authors/publishers on this network think their biggest challenges are with their book. I wonder if there's any common, pervasive challenge we all face.

[albertasequeira]

How do I respond to Google Alerts? I put in the "News" block...Book Signing with my email. What happens after that. I get very confused on this. If I can understand the steps, I would be on my way of opening doors.

[Bill Frank]

How you respond to Google Alerts depends on the Alert itself. Many times, the Google alert is picking up on some key event in your market. For instance, I have Google Alerts for my company and my name. I want to see what's being said about my company and me on the Internet. How I respond to those Google alerts depends on what is said on what web site or blog.

I also have Google alerts about my topic. I read what the alert tells me about my subject. Then, I may go to the blog or website and comment on what I read. Or, I may contact whomever wrote the piece to compliment them on what they wrote. I also include information about me in the Author Block on my comment. I may also offer myself up as an expert for any future writings that writer may do as a follow-up to the original message.

[TL James]

My biggest challenge is finding the right publisher to represent me. After many rejection letters, I decided to "Self Assist Publish" my book. I did a lot of research but, (this is where I take responsibility), I didn't WANT to see the red flags. The publisher I chose talked a good game, but after a couple of months, I noticed cracks. In a candid conversation, she admit that she didn't read my manuscript. I was crushed. She further admit that she doesn't like scary vampire stories. My book be called The MPire, she thought that it was a scary book. I admit vampires stories scary me too, but I like it. Nevertheless, research and ask MANY questions. Furthermore, wait out the questions, maybe even re-ask them in a different way.

tl james
www.mpireonline.com

[Bill Frank]

TL—
What are you doing since you learned your publisher didn't read your manuscript? Are you locked into a contract with that publisher? Or, are you looking for another publisher?

You may want to go to the library and check out the Literary Marketplace (LMP, for short) from the Reference Desk. Most all public libraries have one. In LMP you can find publishers by genre. It gives all the contact information for publishers listed there. Contact those publishers that specialize in vampire fiction. Good luck with your book.

[cpickett]

Hi TL,
Yes, one of the pitfalls of fee-based/POD publisher is that it is easy to get startd now with the available print technologies, but not as easy to actually run a publishing biz.

Also, providing no editing is quite common and one of the reasons this option is frowned upon by many in the industry. Unfortunately, it's not always the author's fault when they're caught up in a situation like yours. You should be able to trust the business to guide you, but as you've seen unfortunately, sometimes it's the blind leading the blind.

If you want to continue with the fee-based option, try Dehanna.com for a database that compares many of them. Another comparison source is The Fine Print by Mark Levine. Still not foolproof and you should research beyond that with authors and the company websites, but you'll at least have a starting point.

I really hope you get everything straightened out so that you can move forward with confidence.


Cheryl Pickett
www.publishinganswers.com

[Bobby Ozuna]

Bill:
I would say the greatest challenge I have faced with my book, is both time (management) and (the lack of) money to effectively market my book.

Proud Souls has sold. Proud Souls has all the potential and abilities (as fans have proven this point) to sale a substantial amount of copies. What I don't have is the financial resources to market the book effectively; I don't have a means to get Proud Souls in the faces of people looking for a new fiction novel by a new fiction writer.

The work involved in promoting a book LONG AFTER IT HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO AN AUDIENCE is by far the greatest challenge to us all. It took four months to write the draft for my novel and then I spend another (roughly) eight months re-writing the story and proofing and editing the work before final editing was done. And that is a headache in itself...BUT...nothing near the agonies associated with trying to find the right approach to get your book in the hands of the ONLY people who will make or break a novel--READERS.

[Bill Frank]

Bobby—
Budgeting time and money to market your book are challenges, indeed. There are great thoughts on how to market your book effectively throughout this forum. We haven't addressed the monetary issue adequately, though.

There are many ways to raise capital to market a book. They include putting it on your credit card, cashing in a 401K, finding "angel" money from a friend or family member or taking out a loan. Most banks won't lend money for a book because there is no tangible asset to collateralize the loan. That doesn't mean there aren't sources for loans, however.

A new source of lending has emerged called peer-to-peer lending. It harkens back to an earlier time when business people raised money by going out to people in the community to borrow part, or all, of the money they needed for their projects. The Internet has made finding a "community" of potential lenders easier to find.

One source of peer-to-peer lending is a web site called Zopa.com. One can borrow any amount from $1,000 to $25,000 from Zopa.com. The benefit of borrowing from Zopa.com is that you can reduce the interest rate charged on your loan by attracting more investors to your loan. It is conceivable to reduce the interest charged to zero if you attract enough investors.

These are unsecured loans, so they do not have the collateral requirements that most bank loans require.

I have not borrowed from Zopa.com, nor do I know anybody who has. It is a relatively new website, at this time, and it is gaining both lenders and borrowers. This is not a specific endorsement for Zopa.com, per se. It is simply a recommendation to check out the site to see if it fits your specific money needs.

[carol stanley]

Bill..I have issues about borrowing money to market one's book..My feelings..if the book is not great will marketing dollars really work????

A thought...Try doing everything you can organically..and if there seems to be good feedback, some sales then proceed...I have been spending lots of time...and little money except for original fee for Morgan James..So I write articles, blog, comment, network, and make calls for speaking engagements ..I call radio stations daily...TUne in ..in a few weeks and I will let you know how I have done...

[Bill Frank]

The decision to borrow to market a book is an individual one. Each person must decide for him/herself. One key decision criterion is belief in the book and it's salability. Borrowing to invest in marketing requires that one have complete confidence that the book will succeed with additional marketing. By definition, this means the author knows who the target reader is and how to reach that target reader.

Certainty about who the reader is and how to reach them comes from experimentation—testing various methods to reach that reader. Writing articles, blogging, commenting on other blogs, networking and speaking are ways to experiment. These activities are essentially free, and I would exhaust all these methods before committing money to a marketing campaign.

[Marilyn Campiz]

When you are an independent author, getting your book the attention it deserves is the biggest challenge...next to gettin your book into the brick and mortars. Writing, editing...the act of creating; that is the easy part.

[carol stanley]

I agree with you..Because if you are a dedicated writer the words come...Getting the book out there is another issue...I find that about one out of ten things I do seems to work...But it is not always easy finding those ten things..

[Bill Frank]

So true. Writing—the creative part—is the easy part. It's also a small part of the entire value chain of publishing. Writing and editing represent about 7%-10% of the value in the book publishing value value chain. Marketing and sales represents about 70% of that chain. The market places more value on selling than writing when it comes to book. That's why successful books are called "Best Sellers," not best written.